As a young boy growing up in Ireland, my grandmother introduced me to the tales of the half giant Cú Chulainn, a mythological Irish hero. One legend tells of the time Mal of Malbay fell in love with Cú Chulainn and chased him all over the country trying to get him to marry her. Cú Chulainn escaped by hopping off the Cliffs of Moher and using the stacks in front of the cliffs as steppingstones to escape. The unfortunate Mal fell to her death trying to catch him and she turned into the stone Hags head we can see today at the far end of the cliffs. On hearing these tales of true Irish men running from women, I can’t help but wonder if they are part of the reason the average age of a man marrying in Ireland is 36 years old.
On the Atlantic way, rising 390 feet (120 meters) above the ocean, for about 9 miles (14 km) rise the Cliffs of Moher one of Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions. Being part of the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher, and surrounding area, are designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark that attracts around 1.5 million visitors in a normal year. On a good day, the cliffs are a beautiful sight to see and move people in extraordinary ways. The view changes with the sun and the weather and I love going for a walk along the cliff although I don’t recommend it in windy conditions.
The Cliffs take their name from an old fort which stood on the Hags Head Promontory called Mothar or Moher. The fort, noted in John Lloyds short tour of Clare in 1780, was torn down and used as a source of stone when in 1806, a series of lookout towers, watching for French invasion, was built around Ireland and Great Britain.
Geology of the Cliffs Of Moher
The Cliffs consist of beds of sedimentary rock namely, sandstone and Namurianshale, formed around 300 million years ago. The stone was created when an ancient marine basin was filled with sand and silt and slowly compacted over millions of years. These deposits are valued by geologists as a physical history of the deposits in a deep-water basin as well as the evidence of 300 million-year-old river channels.
While you are standing on top of the Cliffs, looking out at the Atlantic Ocean, the stone under your feet is being eroded by the sea, wind and rain. This process slowly undermines the cliff face and, from time to time, pieces break off. This gives rise to several geological features such as Caves, Sea Stacks and stumps. The most recognizable of these is Branaunmore, a 220 foot stack to be seen below O’Brien’s Tower.
The different layers of stone that form the Cliffs, vary in thickness from an inch to a few feet and contain many fossilized traces, mainly burrow marks and trails left by what are suspected to be feeding invertebrates. The locally quarried Liscannor Stone shows many of the traces and is used as part of the walkway around the visitor’s center.
The Walkway and O’Brien’s Tower
Along the Cliffs of Moher there are 18km, or a little over 10 miles, of walks along the cliff from Hags head to Doolin, which run past the visitor’s center and O’Brien’s Tower. In the area around the visitor’s center, the path has been secured and is paved. On the rest of the walking route, the path is on unsecured terrain and you should always take care, especially near the cliff face.
Just out of the visitor’s center, and up the hill to the right, you will find O’Brien’s tower. The tower was built in 1835, by the local landlord and MP, Sir Cornelius O’Brien, on the highest point of the Cliffs as a lookout for tourists. From this point, in good weather, you can see as far as Loop Head and have nice views to the Aran Islands.
Wildlife At The Cliffs Of Moher
The Cliffs, and the sea around them, are home to over 20 different bird species as well as a wide range of sea life. Other than the occasional gray seal, the marine life is difficult to see from the Cliffs. However, for most visitors, it is relatively easy to spot some of the birds. The most notable of these are the Atlantic Puffin and the Razor-bills. Both types of bird are members of the auk family and as such can ‘Fly’ underwater to propel themselves.
Atlantic Puffins
The Atlantic Puffin is the only puffin that lives in the Atlantic. They can be found from Maine and Newfoundland through Iceland, and Norway, as far down as Ireland. At the Cliffs of Moher, the birds can be seen along the cliff face and, in particular, on the stacks in front of the Cliffs.
They are marked by a black crown and back, pale grey cheek patches and white lower body. In the mating season it carries a broad very colorful red and black beak cover which it loses in winter.
Razor-bills
Black with a white underside, these birds are agile divers and spend most of their life on the water. They can usually only be seen when they come to land to breed. Easy to spot, they can be found nesting all along the cliff face where they take equal turns incubating their eggs. When the eggs are hatched, they share time foraging for the young.
Grey seals
Grey seals can be found all along the western Irish coastline. Weighing around 500 Lbs, or 230 kilos, when fully grown, they are easiest to see when basking on beaches or rocks. From the Cliffs, it is occasionally possible to see the seals swimming and hunting in the waters below. The seal’s diet is varied with many types of fish and sand eels, however, at the Cliffs, it is likely they are hunting cod, flatfish, or herring.
Visitor Center
Build into the hillside close to the Cliffs, the Visitor Center was designed to have a low impact on the environment while providing all the space and amenities required. Opened in February 2017, the center houses interactive media displays about the wildlife, history, and geology, as well as flora and fauna of the region. In a dedicated cinema, you can fly like a razor-bill, over the cliffs and dive underwater to discover the life in to sea below. A restaurant and café, as well as shopping, are available.
for more info visit : http://www.cliffsofmoher.ie
My Tips
I am often asked when is the best time is to visit the Cliffs of Moher. There simply is no answer to this question as the cliffs are often fogged in or it might be raining. The biggest issue is having a view and so the best thing to do is look at the weather forecast and time your visit accordingly, if possible. Allow around two hours for your visit.
Should you arrive and there is no view, the visitor’s center is worth a visit and is full of interesting displays. The center and the walkway along the Cliffs are wheelchair accessible.
If you happen to be there over lunch, I love the seafood chowder with a lump of brown bread, but there are other tasty options available.
Sue Clary says
Loved ur blog……and u are the best tour director ??
Pieter Reynolds says
thanks Sue!
Beverly says
Pieter, once again a fabulous tour. Thank you. 5 star all the way
Deborah Jackson says
Wow. Great reading from a great tour guide missing travelling. Thanks for the blog